William Penn Starts Spring Break with 3-1 Record
Tucson, Ariz.–The Statesmen softball team has opened its annual spring break trip with a trio of victories, including one by mercy rule.
On Sunday, WPU (3-5) defeated Dakota Wesleyan 3-2 before falling to St. Francis (Ill.) 9-4. Then on Monday, the navy and gold were perfect with a 5-2 victory over Presentation and an 8-0 triumph against Concordia (Neb.) in five innings.
WPU 3, Dakota Wesleyan 2
The Statesmen tallied a run in both the first and second innings. The Tigers then cut the margin in half in the fifth, but William Penn, which owned a 7-3 edge in hits, answered with a score of its own in the bottom half of that frame.
DWU rallied with one in the sixth, but Bianca Castillo (Jr., Rio Rico, Ariz.) closed the door with a perfect seventh inning (one strikeout).
Allyson Stewart (Jr., Delta, B.C., Nursing) topped the victors with two hits and two runs scored, while Peyton Parker (Sr., LaPorte City, Iowa, Sports Management) tossed six efficient frames (five strikeouts) in the start.
St. Francis (Ill.) 9, WPU 4
William Penn got off to a quick start against the Fighting Saints with a three-spot in the top of the first inning. Two of those runs scored on a USF error.
Unfortunately, the rest of the contest belonged to WPU’s foe as the Statesmen were outhit 13-5.
Valeria Quiroga (Jr., Brownsville, Texas, Sociology) managed a pair of base knocks and a walk in the setback.
WPU 5, Presentation 2
WPU slowly built a sizeable advantage against the Saints, scoring at least one run in each of the first four innings.
Jenna Thomason (Fr., Las Vegas, Nev.) put the initial run on the board with a solo home run in the first, while Stewart’s triple scored both Charley Geguzis (So., Williamsburg, Iowa) and Nayely Martinez (So., Carson, Calif.).
Thomason then tripled in the third and later scored. Stewart’s bat again figured into the mix as her singled brought home Carla La Rosa (Jr., Las Vegas, Nev., Business Management).
Parker stumbled a bit in the fifth, allowing her lone runs in that frame. She scattered nine hits in five innings and was relieved by Castillo who completed the victory. Castillo struck out a pair of Saints in two frames out of the bullpen.
The Statesmen managed a 10-9 edge in hits, guided by Thomason with three and Stewart and Geguzis with two each.
WPU 8, Concordia (Neb.) 0
The navy and gold capped off the two-day stretch with their best game of the year, outhitting the Bulldogs 10-2 and not committing an error.
All eight of the squad’s runs came in the second frame with a significant amount of small-ball. Kiana Young (Jr., Las Vegas, Nev., Exercise Science), Sarah Gallivan (Jr., Round Lake, Ill., Secondary Education), Stewart, Brianna Talamantes (Fr., San Pedro, Calif., Business Management), and Geguzis all recorded run-scoring singles, while Martinez drove in two with a double.
Geguzis and Martinez headlined the offense with two hits apiece; Geguzis scored twice and Martinez finished with two RBIs.
Ashton Brown (So., Ottumwa, Iowa, Mechanical Engineering) was dominant in the circle, tossing four scoreless innings with a pair of strikeouts. Castillo wrapped it up with another strikeout in the fifth frame.
Next Up: William Penn remains in Tucson Tuesday, facing Dickinson State at 1:15 p.m. and Jamestown at 3:30 p.m. (times are Central)
